Domaine Gruhier Bourgogne Épineuil Côte de Grisey Cuvée Juliette 2023, Burgundy, Organic

Cuvée Juliette is Dominique Gruhier’s top red, a certified organic Pinot Noir from his best parcels on the Côte de Grisey in Épineuil, northern Burgundy. This steep, south- to south-east-facing slope, up to 45% in places, has almost no topsoil over its Kimmeridgian limestone, which gives wines of real finesse and minerality. Domaine Gruhier ferments Cuvée Juliette with wild yeasts and with whole bunches, up to 100% when the vintage allows, and it is vinified and aged in barrel without any added sulphur until bottling.

The nose is expressive and perfumed, led by strawberry and raspberry with floral, spicy and stony notes from the whole-bunch fermentation. The palate is elegant and finely balanced, with delicate intensity, layers of minerality and spice and supple, silky tannins leading to a long, fresh finish.

Serve at 15–16°C, perhaps after a short decant, with roast duck or guinea fowl, lamb, game birds, mushroom dishes or Époisses and other Burgundian cheeses. Domaine Gruhier Cuvée Juliette is enjoyable now and will continue to develop for 5–8 years.

Domaine Dominique Gruhier lies in Épineuil, in the Tonnerrois of northern Burgundy, a short drive north-east of Chablis and on the same Kimmeridgian limestone. Dominique, who grew up in nearby Tonnerre, began buying vines here around 1990, and the domaine is housed in Le Petit Quincy, a monastic grange built in 1212 by the Cistercian monks of the Abbaye de Quincy. He started farming organically in 2003, and the estate, around 25 hectares of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and a little Pinot Gris, is certified organic by Ecocert. Dominique vinifies parcels separately to bring out the best sites, uses wild yeasts, older and larger barrels and minimal sulphur, and handles Pinot Noir gently to keep its natural elegance.